Which front and rear sprocket should I use to get better highway speeds?

[TestMonkey55]

First off, let me say that I am not a gear head. I am not mechanically inclined at all. With that said... Ive seen a couple of people in these forums suggest changing sprockets to get a little bit more top speed.

But its not clear to me what I need to achieve that. From what ive read in other posts, 16T seems to be suggested a lot for better highway speeds. Some suggest 14T for better city/low speeds. But what about the rear sprocket? Does that need any tweaking?

I tried to search the forums but only found stuff that further confused me. Forgive me if there is an obvious sticky that I overlooked!

Thanks!

[Vegas Street Rider]

I have the 09 GZ and went with the 16 tooth front sprocket only. I did it primarily to reduce the revs of the engine in each gear to prolong the life of the engine. While you do get higher top end speed in each gear you have less torque, which to me is not relevant, as I am long past the days of screaming down the highway at high speed anyway. To some, it makes the bike a little more sluggish, but not significantly so. You won't be going up the hills or against stiff winds at any breakneck speeds so you need to determine if the kind of riding you do will benefit from such a modification. It works for me as a daily commuter and weekend pleasure riding and the engine is not screaming when I cruise at 60-65mph. Hope this helps you make up your mind. I am sure others will chime in and give you their perspectives as well. Ride safe.

[blaine]

I also went with the 16th front sprocket....I had about the same results as I did mostly hi-way riding......But around town it does make 1st gear much more user friendly.....You can get around corners without up shifting to 2nd half way thru the turn. :)